The power of one can move a mountain, literally

This is story of how one man (literally) moved a mountain! But first I want to tell why I want to tell this story?

It was only yesterday when I met this gentleman at Mumbai airport. An Indian; born and brought up in Kolkata but now settled in Indonesia. He visits India once a year to meet his parents.

After some introductory small talk, he started complaining about the state of Indian airports. That they are not friendly to the passengers and particularly Kolkata airport is in a dire state. I asked him why he not raises his concerns, to start with, in the airport complaint book. To which he conveniently said “You see I am just one person. I don’t even live here. I can also feel sorry about the state it is in but what can I do? It is the government’s job. You see people are lazy in Bengal. They don’t want to work…..”

I was then reminded of the story of Dashrath Majhi (India’s Mountain Man) and how he single-handed cut a road through the hill. He worked 22 years, to reduce the plight of his fellow villagers, while the same villagers made fun of him. Dashrath Majhi is an example of what one person can achieve. Actor Aamir Khan in this editorial (this is where this post gets it’s title!) tugs at the heart of this power. He urges people to realize their dream and be a believer and not a “cynical, discouraging naysayer.”

Indeed it was government’s work to make roads, but one person decided to volunteer to make the road himself instead of waiting for the government to do.

If one person can do so much, imagine if all of us do little, how big the combined impact would be! We have the power to change. Let’s Volunteer to bring change in the lives of people around us. Let’s just stop asking “What can I do?” :).

If you know about more people like Dashrath Majhi, please share with us in comments below and inspire more people to believe in the power of one.